Organic synthetic resins made of epoxy, polyester, polypropylene and other polymers are widely used in composites such as fiber boards, glass fiber composites, sealants for marble and granite countertop surfaces, aircrafts, body armors etc. These resins are relatively expensive, with prices currently ranging anywhere from two to one hundred dollars per pound. Their green house gas intensity is very high; they are flammable; and volatile organic compounds released by them during their use present a health hazard for a user.
Technologies exist for formulating inorganic mineral based resins but these are usually based on alkali metal aluminosilicates and alkali metal boroaluminosilicates. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,196. These technologies for the most part are limited to one type of formulation and do not always allow for the manufacture of resins with wide range of formulations, properties and uses.
Several patents have also been granted on the subject of phosphate cements and ceramics that are made by acid-base reactions between phosphoric acid, or an acid-phosphate, and a metal oxide. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,204,214 and 6,518,212, of Wagh et al., researchers at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago. The products disclosed in these patents are hard, and replicate properties of either cement or ceramic, or both.